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On the tonal unity in the melodies of Japanese folk- in modern times

著者 Aizawa Mutuo journal or Tohoku psychologica folia publication title volume 11 number 1-2 page range 1-8 year 1944-05-31 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10097/00127292 On the tonal unity in the melodies of Japanese folk-music in modern times1

By

Mutuo Aizawa (,m 1" 11t 9l!: ~l (Hukusima Normal School)

Contents 1. On the variety of Japanese music . 2. Problem .. 2 3. Experiment ...... 4 4. Results ...... 7 5. Summary of results and conclusions 8

1. On the variety of Japanese music This article is the report of a study on the musical scales of our folk-music. It may be proper, however, to consider briefly Japanese music in general before we proceed to the explanation of our problem. To-day, we Japanese are enjoying various kinds of music. It would not be too much to say that we enjoy all of the eastern and all of the western music. We had our own music from the earliest times of our history. Since the culture of the Asiatic Continent entered our country, musical compositions from , from , from Manchuria, from Annam, and even from India, Central Asia were performed, and new varieties of performance of our and new compositions were born under their influence. Various kinds of musical instruments were added to our original ones, too. The musical compositions of our an-

I This research is a part of one which was made in the Psychological Laboratory of Tohoku Imperial University under the support of Nippon Gakuzyutu Sinkokwai. 2 Mutuo Aizawa cestors and those entered from foreign countries have survived until to-day under the summarizing name of "Gagaku". Gagaku, which has more than one thousand years of tradition, is the music of the ceremonies of the Imperial Court. It is performed at Sinto shrines and Buddhist temples too, generally on a small scale. It is not so frequent of course that common people hear this music regularly performed. However, our national anthem "" and even some of the sung in our national schools (primary schools) are composed in one of the modes of Gagaku. Besides the tradition of this from ancient times, our ancestors had different forms of more . Several kinds of it are performed and enjoyed until to-day. Among them, "Nogaku" is the most aristocratic and was the favorite musical art of knightly families and Samurai since the Muromati period. "Yokyoku" or "Utai" is the vocal music belonging to it. "Samisen" music, "" music, and ''Syakuhati" music, that were developed in the , are quite widely enjoyed. They are the products of the most peculiar Japanese culture of the period, and are generally called "Hogaku" (Japanese music in the narrow sense). In addition to these different kinds of music which have been developed by professional , we have many folk-songs in each district of our country. In this article, 'Japanese folk-music in modern times' means the "Hogaku" and these folk-songs. In the Meizi Era Western music entered our country. The works of the of European countries, as well classical as modern, are no less widely enjoyed by us than "Hogaku". The tone system and the techniques of composition of Western music, together with the modes and styles of our proper music, form to-day the basis of our musical production. On such basis new Japanese national music is growing now.

2. Problem Our chief problem is the tonal unity of "In-Sen", one of the most widely noticeable scales in our folk-music in modern times. Later we shall touch upon the situation of this scale in our and the theory of music. The problem of the tonal unity in European music has been investigated in the theory of scales, in the theory of harmony, and even in the psychology of music. E. Kurth published a very interest- On the tonal unity in the melodies of Japanese folk-music in modern times 3 ing theory on the nature of the most elemental scale i. e. the major scale. And yet, the problem is not entirely solved of course. We find many questions half solved or practically solved, but not solved, when they are scientifically or psychologically examined. So the author of the present article also once experimentally investi­ gated how the major and the minor scale are experienced by the Japanese in general.1 His next problem was that of the tonality or the tonal unity of Japanese melodies. Concerning the tonal unity in Japanese music, we have the theories of "Gagaku" from old times, and since the Meizi Era, the studies on the scales of our folk-music. In these, however, some questions are not fully explained. As we deal here with our folk­ music in modern times, we do not refer to the theories of "Gagaku". In our country, the theoretical study of folk-music was made almost by none until a few scholars and musicians began to examine the tonal nature of it in the Meizi Era. The most important book written at that time is "Zokugaku-Senritu-Ko" (A study on the melodies of folk-music) by Rokusiro Uehara. He investigated the nature of the melodies of Samisen music, Koto music, Syakuhati music, folk­ songs, and Yokyoku, and found that the most elemental scales in all these, except Yokyoku and old Syakuhati music, were two kinds of pentatonic ones. He classified them into Miyakobusi-scale (the scale of city tunes) and the Inakabusi-scale (the scale of country tunes),and named the former "In-Sen", and the latter ''Yo-Sen". "Sen" means "mode" or "scale". "Yo" means the sun, the male, the positive etc., and "In" means the moon, the female, the negative etc. "Yo-Sen" and "In-Sen" have the following forms:

_ /ascending . • C d f g a# c' Yo-sen"' . descendmg . C d f g a c' /ascending . . C db f g a# c' In-Sen"' . descendmg • C db f g ab c' Of course all the melodies of Japanese folk-music m modern times are not necessarily composed in those scales only. However, it is true that they are most important and most widely noticeable, and many authors of the theory of Japanese music writing after U ehara's above mentioned work agree regarding this point. Questicns exist only concerning the ascending and the descending

1 M. Ai z aw a, An experimental study of the consciousness of tonality. I. On major tonality. II. On minor tonality. Toh. Psych. Fol. 3, 1935-1936. 4 Mutuo Aizawa forms of the scales and the establishment of the scales, especially of "In-Sen", in the history of Japanese music. S. Tanaka, H. Tanabe, T. Iba, S. Huzii, K. Sim6sa published opinions con­ curring in the main point. K. Boda's theory1 is the only exception the author of the present article could find. Boda collected many folk- melodies from various districts and concludes that the elemental forms of those melodies (the scales) are as below. Yo-Sen. c d f g a# c' Jn-Sen . c db f gb a# c' Boda's "Yo-Sen" is the ascending form of Uehara's, while his "In-Sen" is quite different from its generally acknowledged form sinLe Uehara. Moreover, he applied his so-called "In-Sen" to a popular Koto song "Sakura Sakura", which is generally thought to be composed in "In-Sen", and also to "Usioi-Uta in Nanbu". The latter which is sung in the north-eastern district of our country seems to be composed in the minor (the minor missing the Fourth and the Seventh), and its origin is disputed by several authors, because a melody in that scale is generally thought to be exceptional among our folk-songs. (As was mentioned before, "In-" and "Yo-Sen" are not the only basis of our folk-music. It seems that the melodies of our folk-songs especially stand on various basis, though the above-mentioned ones are most widely provable. K. Simosa's work2 also suggests this.) Thus our problems: Is really the generally recognized form of "In-Sen" psychologically true ? Is really the "Kyii"3 of "In-Sen" the centre of the tonal unity of it in our consciousness of tonality4? Is Boda's "In-Sen" really a scale which indicates the state of tonal unity? In what form do we feel the tonal unity of the melody of "Usioi-Uta"?

3. Experiment The principle of the method

In our foregoing investigation5, we found a natural tendency

1 See K. Boda, Nippon-Senritu to Kwasei, 2601 (Janapese melody and harmDny, 1941). 2 K. Simosa, Nippon-Onkai no Hanasi, 2602 (On Japanese musical scales, 1942). 3 In the theory of Japanese music from old times, the name "Kyii" (a') has been given to the Primo of the scales. 4 See M. Aizawa, op. cit. 5 M. Aizawa, op. cit. On the tonal unity in the melodies of Japanese folk-music in modem times 5 that two melodies, either in Major or in Minor, sung or imagined by us successively in a natural and easy attitude show the same key or stand in the relation of the most related key. By utilizing this natural tendency and applying the same method (as we used before) to melodies in "In-Sen", we are able to examine the tonal character of "In-Sen".

The observers and the melodies used in the experiment This experiment is not that of a general psychology, but that of a special psychology of musical experience. So, the observer must be selected. It required from the observer the follow­ ing points : he must have a high musical ability ; one who has a

"Sakura Sakura"

, ., J Jr 1J Jr 1J r r r1J liJ 1 'JJJJIJlJJ 1Jrrr1hSU IJJTIJ ' J DJ 1J J r 1JJ r ltJ J IDJ J II The opening part (The (complete) score is shown in) of "Rokudan" these "Folia", 3,1935. ' u J J j lj ,nJ-0.Wlg ~J j I~~ J:!JVI

, g ,,;, ,, , w n'up.t 41,,~ ....._,., "Usioi-uta" 6 Mutuo Aizawa

so-called absolute pitch is not suited for the experiment ; also one whose tendency of perseveration is strong is not suited for the experiment.. Considering these points, the experimenter asked the cooperation of 12 teachers and s~ill~ul players of "Hogaku"1 and of 4 trained amateurs of Western music. Melodies used in the experiment were those of "Sakura-Sakura" ( "The Cherry-Blossom", an old popular song which has been sung by the beginners of Koto music), "Rokudan" ("Six Sections", a classical work of Koto music composed in a free variation style with six ec), and "Usioi-Uta" ("Song of Ox Drivers"). They were as shown on the foregoini page. Several major and minor melodies were also used combined with these.

The procedure of the experiment The principle of the experiment was explained before. The real procedure of the experiment was as follows. One unit in a series of the experiment was a combination of two melodies. Four diff~rent kinds of the combination were experimented. They were (1) "Sakura Sak'ura" with "Rokudan", (2) "Sakura Sakura" with a melody in Major, (3) "Rokudan" with a melody in Major, and (4) "Usioi-Uta" with a melody in Minor. Before the experiment, the experimenter asked each observer to tell him the names of several major and minor melodies which could be sung at once when required.. It may be better to explain the procedure with an example. A unit of experiment in which the first combination mentioned above was tested, was performed as bellow. The experi­ menter was sitting by a piano and played the melody of "Sakura Sakura".. Then the playing was stopped suddenly before comming to the end, and the name of the melody which the observer must imagine2 at once was told by the experimenter. The pitches of the melody played on the keyboard and of-that which was imagined and sung by the observer was noted down on a music paper. The observer had been instructed beforehand to listen to a melody which would be played by the ·exp~rimenter and to imagine at once a melody which would be told by the experimenter after the sudden stoppage of the playing. He was also i:equired to imagine the melody m a natural and easy attitude and to sing the opening part of it

1 See page 2 of this article. ll "to imagine" means here "to make an image". On the tonal unity in the melodies of Japanese folk-music in modem times 7 at the same pitch as was imagined at that time. Melodies were played and imagined in this way and the experiment was continued with a pause after each unit. Different kinds of the combination of melodies were experimented in an irregular order, and also one combination was tested several times changing the pitch of the playing and the note at which the playing was stopped.

4. Results As was mentioned before, the observers were selected previously. But, some of them proved not to be suited for the experiment when it began . It was not easy for them to imagine a melody in a natural and easy attitude under the influence of a foregoing melody played on the keyboard. They inclined to endeavour to reproduce some true pitch (tonality), and their results did not show any definite tendency concerning the tonal relation between the melodies combined with each other. So their results were excluded. The treatment of the result was made as below: I. In the cases in which "Sakura Sakura" and "Rokudan" were combined, we examined the relation between their "Kyu"­ notes, assuming the form of "In-sen" generally agreed since Uehara to be true. II. In the cases in which "Sakura Sakura" or "Rokudan" was combined with a melody in Major we examined the relation between the "Kyii"-note of the former and the Tonic of the latter. III. In the cases in which "Usioi-Uta" was combined with a melody in Minor we examined the relation between the supposed Tonic of the former and the real Tonic of the latter, assuming the former to be composed in the minor pentatonic scale. Calculating from these points of view, we obtained the following figures.

I. "Sakura Sakura" and "Rokudan" Case of Unison Case of the Fifth 68,8% 86,7%

II. "Sakura Sakura" and a melody in Major Case of Unison Case of the Fifth 14,0o/o 72,0o/o 8 Mutuo Aizawa

III. "Rokudan" and a melody in Major Case of Unison Case of the Fifth 24,0% 63,0%

IV. "Usioi-Uta" and a melody in Minor Case of Unison Case of the Fifth 75.0% 25.0%

5. Summary of results and conclusions I. Examining the tonal relation of the two melodies in "ln­ Sen" ( "Sakura Sakura" and "Rokudan") and referring to the result of our foregoing investigation, we may consider "In-Sen" in its generally recognized form since Uehara to be a real musica] scale, and its first tone "Kyii" being one which tonally unifies the series of tones. 2. When the melodies in "In-Sen" were combined with a melody in Major, "Kyii."-notes of the former coincided more fre­ quently with the Dominant than with the Tonic of the latter. But we cannot decide here whether this comes from the special character of "In-Sen", or it only means that the coincidence of the "Kyii." with the Tonic was avoided according to the difference of the moods of the melodies. 3. Mr. Boda's interpretation of the melodies of "Sakura Sakura" and "Usioi-Uta" is clearly mistaken. "Sakura Sakura" was felt by the observers to be composed in "In-Sen" in its gene­ rally recognized form, and "Usioi-Uta" in the minor pentatonic scale. 4. It is doubtful, if Mr. Bod a's so-called "In-Sen" is a musical scale in the strict sense. 5. It is a fact that the Japanese folk-song "Usioi-Uta" is composed in the minor pentatonic scale. Whether it is an excep­ tional case in our folk-music or not, must be investigated further by collecting a good many materials.

(Received 5. I II, 2603)